Voltage divider



Dec. 6, 1955 w. G. GRIBBLE 2,726,304

VOLTAGE DIVIDER Filed June 28, 1954 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 0' VOLTAGE DIVIDER Walter G. Gribble, Erie, Pa., assignor to Erie Resistor Corporation, Erie, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 28, 1954, Serial No. 439,673

4 Claims. (Cl. 261 453) This invention is intended to provide a voltage divider utilizing printed resistance elements. In a preferred form, the divider can be built into a tube socket and include load resistors at the voltage take off points.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is a plan view of a tube socket including a voltage divider and Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing, the tube socket has eyelets 1 to 12, inclusive, for making the electrical connectors to the tube terminals. Each of the eyelets extends through an opening 13 in a disc 14 of ceramic material. Around each of the openings 13 for the eyelets 1 to 9 and 11 and 12 is a metalized coating 15 which may, for example, be silver fired on by the techniques used in ceramic decoration. The purpose of the metalized coatings 15 is to provide for terminal connections to printed resistor elements. The metalized coatings for eyelets 11 and 12 have tabs 16 and 17 for a printed resistor element 18 between the tabs.

At the center of the disc 14 around a center opening 19 is a band 20 of printed resistance material, one end of which is connected to the coating 15 associated with the eyelet 12 and the other end of which is connected to a metalized coating 21, which serves as a solder lug for a wire lead. The entire voltage appears between the eyelet 12 and the coating 21 so that the resistance 20 serves as the bleed resistance for the voltage divider. Extending radially inward from the coatings 15 associated with each of the eyelets 1 to 9, inclusive, are radial spokelike resistance strips 1a to 9a inclusive. The resistance spokes 1a to 9a, inclusive, tap onto the arcuate hub-like resistance 20 at points electrically equally spaced so that there are nine equally spaced points of voltage take off at the eyelets 1 to 9, inclusive. The spoke-like resistance elements 1a to 9a, inclusive, also serve as load resistance elements in addition to take off elements for the voltage divider. Because of circuit requirements, the resistance elements 1a to 9a, inclusive, will not necessarily be all of the same value. In the particular form illustrated, the elements 1a to 7a, inclusive, are all of the same value, while the elements 8a and 9a are of lesser value. The magnitude of the resistance is conveniently controlled by the width of the resistance printing. All of the printed resistance elements 20, 1a to 9a, inclusive, and 18 are of the same thickness and can be applied or printed at one time. Because of the spoke-like arrangement of the elements 1a to 9a, inclusive, there is no need to have metalized coating at the take ofi points from the resistance 2,726,304 Patented Dec. 6, 1955 "ice 20. The angular spacing of the spoke-like resistance elements 1a to 9a, inclusive, is such that the resistance of the segmental portion of the resistance 20 between the center lines of adjacent spoke elements is essentially constant and for that reason, each spoke element 1a to 9a, inclusive, behaves as though it were tapped to the resistance element 29 on the center line of the spoke element.

Printed resistance compositions are Well known and may, for example, comprise a mixture of varnish and conductive particles such as powdered carbon. Such compositions are readily applied by painting or by the silk screening technique.

' What is claimed as new is:

1. A voltage divider comprising a tube socket base, a circular series of angularly spaced socket terminals on the base, angularly spaced metalized coatings on the base extending radially inward from the terminals, angularly spaced spoke-like resistance elements printed on the base and extending radially inward from the metalized coatings, an arcuate bleed resistance element printed on the base at the center of the base and having end terminals for connecting the bleed resistance across a source of voltage, said bleed resistance contacting the inner ends of the spoke-like resistance elements at angularly spaced points.

2. A voltage divider comprising a base, a circular series of angularly spaced terminals on the base, angularly spaced metalized coatings on the base extending radially inward from the terminals, angularly spaced spokelike resistance elements printed on the base and extending radially inward from the metalized coatings, an arcuate bleed resistance element printed on the base at the center of the base and having end terminals for connecting the bleed resistance across a source of voltage, said bleed resistance and spoke-like resistance elements being a homogeneous coating with the spoke-like resistance elements radiating from angularly spaced points of the bleed resistance element.

3. A voltage divider comprising a base, a circular series of angularly spaced metalized terminal coatings on the base, an arcuate bleed resistance element printed on the base at the center of the base and having end terminals for connecting the bleed resistance across a source of voltage, and spoke like resistance elements printed on the base and radiating outward from angularly spaced points of the bleed resistance element to said angularly spaced terminal coatings.

4. A voltage divider comprising a base, a circular series of angularly spaced metalized terminal coatings on the base, an arcuate bleed resistance element printed on the base at the center of the base and having end terminals for connecting the bleed resistance across a source of voltage, and spoke-like resistance elements printed on the base and radiating outward from angularly spaced points of the bleed resistance element to said angularly spaced terminal coatings, said bleed resistance and spokelike resistance elements being a homogeneous coating.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 570,877 Great Britain July 26, 1945 

